Manslaughter probe into Germanwings crash
A preliminary investigation has begun into whether manslaughter charges should be brought over the Germanwings plane crash.
French prosecutor Brice Robin said there was ‘no doubt’ co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had deliberately crashed the A320 in the Alps, killing all 150 on board.
Lubitz, 27, had seen seven different doctors in the month before the crash – one GP, three psychologists and three eye specialists.
During the five years leading up to the crash, he had consulted a total of 41 physicians.
Robin said Lubitz feared he was losing his sight and told doctors he was only sleeping two hours a night.
Doctors could find no reason for his vision problems and one doctor suggested it might have been due to psychosis.
But due to laws on patient confidentiality, doctors had not passed on information to his employers.
Germanwings and parent Lufthansa say Lubitz, whose pilot training in 2009 had been delayed due to severe depression, had since passed all ‘fitness to fly’ tests.
The preliminary investigation will focus on whether the gap between what the pilot’s doctors knew, and what his employers knew, points to manslaughter charges, said the BBC.
The crash victims included 16 German schoolchildren and two teachers from the German town of Haltern. Their coffins returned to the town on Wednesday.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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